Old Habits
by lumisakom
Summary: Al is recovering in hospital from the toll the Gate has taken on his body. Ed and the team pay a visit, and Al deems his long hair far too long for practicality. Thankfully, Ed seems to have a pair of scissors nearby... (Post-manga oneshot.)


**Just a headcanon of mine. Post-manga.**

**(Can you tell I had no idea how to end it and no real structure before I began?)**

**Disclaimer.**

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Golden eyes blinked at the soft rap of knuckles on glass. A wide smile spread across little-used lips, which opened to gently call "Come in."

Five men and a woman entered the pale room, identical expressions of awe and awkwardness on their familiar faces at the sight of Alphonse Elric's unfamiliar face.

"You..." Havoc muttered, if only to break the silence. "I guess I never thought about what you looked like before."

Al grinned, and it was so similar but so different from his brother's grin. "Me neither. Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and scream," he chuckled musically, one hand idly fingering the rough turquoise cotton of his hospital gown. "And every time nii-san sees me he starts bawling like a baby."

Breda let out a hearty laugh.

Idle conversation continued until the glass-paned door was swung open abruptly with a loud, "I got you that cake you asked fo - oh, hi everyone."

Al's smile grew wider and softer, and he accepted the pie gratefully. "It's a pie, nii-san."

Ed made a noise of not caring, and he shrugged as he pulled himself onto the narrow hospital bed. "Budge up, Al."

Al budged, and the brothers found a comfortable position side-by-side.

The wheeled table on which the pie was sitting lazily was tugged towards them with an appropriate rumble from the younger brother's stomach.

"Dammit," he grumbled irritably (though to the rest of the room it was quite cute), pushing his long, tattered hair out of the way as he attempted to lift a slice to pale lips. "I don't know how you put up with long hair, nii-san. It's always in the way."

Ed glanced up from his alchemical tome. "Want me to cut it for you?"

"You would?" Al answered, pleasantly surprised.

Roy raised an incredulous eyebrow, and Havoc snorted.

"Shouldn't you go to a barber's?" Fuery offered. "I tried to cut someone's hair once and it... wasn't very successful."

Ed smirked at the mental image. "Al and I have been cutting each other's hair since we were kids."

"Why?" Havoc asked in bewilderment, with suitable hand gestures.

"There isn't a barber's in Resembool."

"That's why nii-san grew his hair out," Al said absent-mindedly, his attention mostly focused on the warm, steaming cherry pie. "Because I couldn't wield a pair of scissors accurately with the gauntlets, and nii-san could only be bothered to trim the fringe himself." He blinked and turned to the man to his right. "Do you want me to cut it short?"

Ed shook his head, golden eyes considering the lengthy locks spilling over his shoulder in a loose ponytail. "Then it'd be like I was trying to turn back time. Just because you've got your body back, doesn't mean everything's the same as when we were kids," he murmured wistfully. "I'm gonna try and grow it as long as possible."

Al hummed through a smile. "That's so like you, nii-san." He sighed plaintively. "I, on the other hand, enjoy not having to deal with hair going all over my food."

Ed snorted with laughter. "Sure, okay. I'll cut it after you finish the cake."

"Pie," Al firmly corrected.

"Whatever. Same thing. As short as before, right?"

"Mm," Al replied through a large mouthful of pie so sweet it stung his sensitive tastebuds. He swallowed and dropped his fork on the plate. "But keep the fringe a bit longer."

Ed directed him until Al was sitting cross-legged in front of a scissor-wielding Ed, who tucked a stray lock of hair behind his ear before he began the forty-five minute process.

"There," he huffed eventually, dusting off any loose hairs. "Done."

Al explored the sudden lack of hair with bony hands. He grinned. "Well, it doesn't _feel_ like a haystack, at least," he teased, eliciting a childish noise of indignation from the elder Elric. "Nah, it feels great." Al brushed thick blonde locks out of his eyes. "Thanks." He accepted the black steel from Ed, who shifted round until he was in front.

"Don't cut too much," Ed warned cautiously as he undid the ponytail and shook his hair until it lay flat. "Just a bit, to get rid of the split ends."

"Oh, so just four inches then?" Al asked casually and made a snipping noise behind Ed's head.

Ed spun around in a panic. "Al!" he screeched, grasping his hair anxiously.

Al let out an evil cackle, making a few more snipping noises for affect. "Just kidding, nii-san. Turn back round."

"Hmph." Ed turned slowly, a slight hint of owlish fear still lingering in his eyes.

While slouching, the golden threads lay easily to his mid-back, and Al raised impressed eyebrows as he began to trim. "Your hair's getting long already, nii-san. I dread to think how long it's going to be in a few years."

Ed barked out a laugh. "Long enough to be a serious nuisance, hopefully."

Al merely shook his head in resignation.


End file.
